Love conquers all
by Sez1
Summary: After Kane leaves, a heartbroken Kirsty tries to rebuild her life, only to find that its not that simple... This is my first fanfiction so please bear with me, and any reviews are welcome.
1. Tough times

A ring and a broken heart was all that she had left. Kirsty's carefully constructed world had come crashing down around her. She lay on her bed looking up at the ceiling, desperately trying not to, but still comparing it to the cabin she had shared with Kane, on the fruit-picking farm. Thoughts and feeling whiled around in her mind until all that she wished for was sleep, sleep that would stop all of the pain and suffering she was feeling.  
  
Kirsty turned the ring over slowly in the palm of her hand, wondering where he was now. The only person she had ever really loved and her soul mate. He was the only person who had ever really understood her, and even he had let her down. A sudden impulse made her run to the window, and as she opened it a thought came unbidden. She stared down at the ground, and remembered how Kane had come to the house looking for her only to be turned away by her mother. She had been so unhappy then, but that was nothing compared to what she felt now. Anger, pain and overwhelming sadness clouded her mind and for a moment she wanted to hurl the ring out of the window and far, far away, somewhere where she did not have to be reminded of what it meant to her, and of how she still loved him.  
  
Kirsty turned around and crawled back onto the bed, her face buried in the pillow. She had to move on and let go, he didn't love her anymore. Neither did her family, and they hadn't even tried to understand. She was on her own and she needed to be strong. But deep down she didn't think she could do it, a 15-year-old girl against the world. As her sobs died down, utter exhaustion over took her, and she feel into a deep and dreamful sleep, where she was safe and protected, in the arms of the man she loved. 


	2. Cruel to be Kind

The image of Kirsty huddled on the ground where Kane had pushed her out of the car, was still vividly imprinted in his memory. She had sat there with tears running down her cheeks and such a look of disbelief and hurt that it had made Kane's heart break.  
  
As he had driven home, he had repeated to himself over and over again, like a mantra, that Kirsty was with her family and better off without him. But it hadn't worked, and right now he was lying on his bed, not even noticing the tears falling on to his pillow. He was furious with himself for being so weak and mean. He hadn't meant to hurt her, but as she had hugged him for the last time and told him she wasn't scared, he had known that he would have to be cruel to be kind. And so he had been, but it hadn't made it any easier, only more painful. He wondered if she had believed all of the horrible things he had said to her to make her get out of the car, and stop looking at him with her big brown eyes full of tears. She needed her family and he hoped they would welcome her back. But he didn't know, couldn't be sure, and he was worried about her. There were too many thoughts and questions running through his mind, and he couldn't think clearly. He covered his face with his hands as if he could shut his out emotions, but all that he succeeded in doing was realising that he had hurt far too many people again, especially Kirsty, and that he hated himself for it.  
  
He needed to get away, go inland, to the coast, anywhere but stay here. He had a place at the TAFE College for the maritime course, but if he was quick he might be able to get a transfer to another location. He jumped up from his bed and pulled down an oversized bag from his wardrobe, proceeding to stuff it with his clothes and the few possessions he owned. He didn't even bother to glance back through the open doorway as he ran down the stairs. However, just before he got through the door he remembered that his aunt probably deserved to know what he was doing, in case she was worried or needed to get in touch. He set his bag down in the hall by the front door, and went through to the tiny kitchen and diner, where he searched for a pen and the small notepad his aunt always kept next to the phone for messages. He sat down and quickly wrote a note detailing that he had had to leave and that he thanked his aunt for letting him stay with her, and everything she had done for him. After everything his dad and brother had put her through he figured that she would probably be relieved to see him go.  
  
He left the note on the table. As he sat there with the pen in his hand and the paper in front of him, he couldn't stop himself. He couldn't take the chance that Kirsty had really believed all of the nasty things he had said, and that she didn't know how much he really did love her. She had changed his life; given him direction and motivation, and more than anything he wanted to do the same for her. A final parting gift he thought with a grim smile. As he got into his car, he knew that there was one more thing he had to do before he was ready to leave. 


	3. Flynn

At the drop in centre, Kane sneaked into Flynn's office and left a note asking Flynn to give the letter to Kirsty. He was praying that he wouldn't meet Shelly, or anybody else. He just wanted to leave quietly. As he turned around to leave, however, Flynn walked into the office.  
  
"Kane," he said. "What are you doing here? If Shelly sees you, she'll probably call the police."  
  
"Look man, I'm leaving ok? I just need you to give this letter to Kirsty. I guess you already know she's back home with her family."  
  
"Yeah, I got the short version of it from Shelly, and I don't think this is a good idea. Kirsty's really upset, and this could make things a whole lot worse," said Flynn, his voice dropping to a whisper so they would not be over heard.  
  
He walked around the desk to his chair and sat down. From here he could see who was in the next room, just in case Shelley walked in. It was unlikely as Kirsty had only just got home, but he needed to make sure, for Kane's sake as well as the Sutherlands.  
  
"Please Flynn you have to. I said some really horrible things to make her go back to her family, stuff that I didn't mean. I don't want her to hate me, I love her and I need her to know that. So please, will you give the letter to Kirsty?" Kane was getting more and more frustrated. Flynn was supposed to be his councillor, the only person apart from Kirsty, that he could talk to and who was supposed to be able to help him. So why wasn't he listening?  
  
Flynn glanced at the rucksack on Kane's back.  
  
"Where are you going?"  
  
"Away from here. From Kirsty. She deserves better than me. If I leave then it will be easier for both of us."  
  
"You don't really think its that simple do you Kane? But fine. I'll give it some thought. If I think that it's the right thing to do then I'll give Kirsty your letter," Flynn consented.  
  
"Fine, whatever, I need to go." Kane was getting more and more upset by the minute. Why couldn't Flynn see he was trying to do the right thing?  
  
Kane had just started to walk back through the door, when Flynn added,  
  
"Kane. What you did for Kirsty was pretty selfless. She may not be able to see that right now, but you did the right thing, and I can guess that it must have been pretty tough for you. So don't hate yourself too much ok? And if you ever need to talk you know where I'll be."  
  
Kane wasn't sure what to say. After a few seconds he gave a nod of his head and left. He was heading for a new life and that's all he could allow himself to think about. 


End file.
